MCA Institutional Members are craft related institutions, industries, business and organizations such as: craft galleries, craft retailers, craft suppliers, craft services, nonprofit organizations, schools and other businesses and institutions working with craft artists. Institutional members support the MCA’s efforts and programming while receiving valuable and tangible benefits of being linked with the MCA.
Cornerstones
CORNERSTONES EXCHANGE FUNDING AND COMMITMENT FOR ALIGNMENT WITH THEÂ MAINE CRAFTS ASSOCIATIONÂ AND OURÂ VALUES: CRAFTSMANSHIP, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, TRADITION & INGENUITY
We create alignment and build connections by linking Cornerstones to our 600+ members, 11,000+ mailing list and social media connections, 250,000+ in-person engagements and through co-branded marketing.
Hay Runner
Hay Runner is a real estate service company dedicated to simplifying the sales and property improvement processes.
We are a company of problem solvers. We like to make and do things well.
Founded on the belief that we connect through experience and the environment we occupy and share, we are, in part, where we are… in MAINE.
Finally, we believe that good design leads all important change, and it cannot be done alone. We support these changes and transitions with a circle of creatives and problem solvers.
Woodhull
Woodhull is a team of award-winning architects, designers, and builders based in Maine.
We specialize in custom design and build services for new homes, renovations, additions, and commercial projects. We are experts in navigating challenging waterfront properties and historic renovations.
Our work is informed by our home base in Maine, with a focus on the landscape, intentional materials, simplicity of expression, and timeless character.
Patron Institutions
Center for Furniture Craftsmanship
Our woodworking school offers courses in furniture making
and related skills such as carving, turning, marquetry and finishing.
The mission of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship is to provide the best possible education for people who want to design and build functional, beautiful, and expressive work out of wood to the highest standard of craftsmanship. At the heart of the Center’s mission is the belief that design and craftsmanship are deeply meaningful expressions of the human spirit. They contribute to individual fulfillment and inform the larger culture.
Our programs are for novice, intermediate, and advanced woodworkers who seek an inspiring learning experience in a supportive environment.
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
The Haystack Mountain School of Crafts is an international craft school located on the Atlantic Ocean in Deer Isle, Maine. Founded in 1950 as a research and studio program in the arts, Haystack offers one and two-week studio workshops to participants of all skill levels as well as the two-week, Open Studio Residency program, exhibitions, campus tours, benefit auctions, artist presentations, and community programs — shorter workshops and a new Public Access Fab Lab for Maine residents and high school students.
Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts
Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts is a nonprofit arts organization that offers summer and fall residencies, workshops, artist exhibition and talks, and other public events.
Supporting Institutions
Running with Scissors
Running With Scissors Art Studios is a closed-door workspace inhabiting over 16,000 square feet in a muraled industrial building in the East Bayside neighborhood of Portland, Maine. A dedicated arts environment facilities include private studios, open-air studios, associate workspaces, communal areas, and shared equipment.
RWS comprises three main departments in print, clay, and wood. The studios are managed by a small staff of six, including a director, an administrator, department leads, studio technicians, and an event intern. Each department is managed and supported by a staff of artists working in their respective departments. Please visit our Staff page to learn more about our team.
Membership consists of over 80 fine artists and craftspeople working in a wide range of media including printmaking, ceramics, woodworking, painting, photography, metalsmithing, textiles, and more. Members possess varying degrees of education and experience and range from emerging to established. All members have access to communal spaces, equipment, and community. The studios’ objective is to help each member reach their independent creative goals.
RWS is owned and directed by Kate Anker who started as a member in 2006. Though it is a registered LLC, the business has a heavy social bottom line. That bottom line is the point.
Handworks Gallery
Handworks Gallery, located in the center of the village of Blue Hill, features an exceptional collection of local and Maine art, contemporary craft, home goods, jewelry, and accessories. Founded in 1975, the gallery represents a diversity of established and emerging artists. We’re an ideal source for those special gifts that are one of a kind, thoughtfully created, and meaningful.
Island Artisans
Forty years ago a group of local Maine artists came together to create Island Artisans, a gallery located on Mount Desert Island in Bar Harbor, ME. It is dedicated to showing the best of Maine arts and crafts. Continuing in that tradition, we offer the finest original works of over 100 of Maine’s leading artisans.
Contemporary American craft, art, home decor, and personal accessories, our unique collection of handmade items reflects the creative spirit of local designers and can be seen in two bright and welcoming galleries, now located in Bar Harbor and Northeast Harbor.
Bar Harbor: 99 Main Street, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609, 207.288.4214
Northeast Harbor: 119 Main Street, Northeast Harbor, Maine 04662, 207.276.4045
Email: artisans@gwi.net
Facebook: facebook.com/IslandArtisans
Instagram: @islandartisansmdi
Member Institutions
American Furniture Masters Institute
The Fine Woodworking Program at the Maine State Prison is an outreach venture of the American Furniture Masters Institute, operating under the authority of the Maine Department of Corrections. The program, led by Furniture Masters members, teaches residents the skills of fine furniture making through a structured, solid curriculum.
Maine Prison Outreach takes place within the large Prison Industries woodshop at the prison in Warren and offers many benefits for residents. The program is an incentive for good behavior, an outlet for creativity, and a way to develop woodworking skills at a Master level. Participants develop disciplinary skills and a level of self-respect that provides post-incarceration career opportunities.
Artsworth
Artsworth Studios is a community arts organization illuminating the importance of creativity in all aspects of life through instruction, thought provoking exhibitions and special events.
Artsworth Studios is a non-profit arts organization attuned to the needs of the community. As a unique community resource, the center provides opportunities for exploration and discovery that illuminate the importance and value of the arts in all aspects of life. We are devoted to encouraging a wider appreciation and deeper understanding of the arts by providing innovative and accessible opportunities for all ages, including high quality art instruction, thought-provoking exhibitions and special events.
Artsworth Studios is the natural outgrowth of Atlantic Art Glass, a glassblowing studio owned and operated by Linda Perrin. Artists near and far have visited, collaborated and studied at the glass blowing studio. Perrin has attracted a community of creative people who are dedicated to a wider appreciation of art, with the intent to have a positive local impact. Training in glass blowing, blacksmithing, jewelry making, fiber arts, fine arts, performing arts as well as other creative cultural exchanges are now offered at 25 Pine Street in Ellsworth through Artsworth Studios.
Board Of Directors
Caroline Cotter President , Linda Perrin – Vice President, Cheryl Rosenfelder – Secretary, Jeff Toman – Past Treasurer, Molly Friedland, Fred Lies
Belfast FiberArts
Belfast FiberArts is a community based fiber and textile arts shop that boasts over 30 Maine artists, founded by Alice Seeger in 2019. They host various weaving, spinning, and other fiber related workshops.
Berlian Arts
Berlian Arts is a creative agency located in Maine that services the artist community. We specialize in photography, design (web, graphic, CAD) and strategies for creative businesses. Robert Diamante and co-owner Nick Thompson use a combination of right- and left-brained strategies to help you succeed!
Bespoke Branded Fit
Bespoke Branded Fit is an apparel development consultancy focused on providing services for apparel development and corporate apparel development standards.
We collaborate with clients in the areas of technical development with a focus on fit, pattern making and technical design. Utilizing an extended team, we are able to round out our product development services in the areas of design, sourcing and vendor placement. Our unique process provides clients with the opportunity to lean on the Bespoke team’s range of services that are applicable to achieve their development goals.
Common Threads of Maine
Common Threads of Maine is a nonprofit professional sewing school, textile makerspace, and second-hand sewing supply and gift shop.
Ebb & Flow Fiber Arts
Ebb and Flow Fiber Arts is a donation- driven fiber arts supply store. I help folks clear out their fabric and fiber stashes while simultaneously providing these materials to local crafters for much more affordable prices. We have so much to use, and often times these treasures are collecting dust in our stashes! I am blessed to be able to provide this for my community, the creativity that has blossomed within my shop’s walls in just one year has been amazing to see!
Factory 3
Factory 3 is a makerspace at 115 Saint James Street in Portland, Maine that hosts a diverse group of creatives, thinkers, dreamers, and entrepreneurs, from experts to beginners. We provide shared use of woodshop, metal shop, and textile equipment, and offer private studios for the dedicated maker. Factory 3’s array of workshops and creative courses contribute to the learning and development of not only our members but of Portland’s diverse community of artists, craftspersons, designers, engineers, and spirited business people. At Factory 3 our mission is to cultivate an inclusive culture where creative generosity thrives, where ideas are encouraged to grow, and where both novices and professionals are empowered to unleash their abilities.
Kennebec Clay Works
We are a small community studio offering pottery classes, workshops, and rental spaces in the Augusta/Central Maine area.
Lemont Block Collective
We are a team of eclectic, creative, hard-working painters, jewelers, photographers and crafts-people. We share a fantastic, sunny, ground-level retail space in a 145 year-old building, in the heart of walkable downtown Brunswick. Besides displaying our work, we also share the work of operating the Collective, so no matter when you arrive, you’ll meet one of us — and we are so glad to show you around!
Lights Out Gallery
Lights Out Gallery is a nonprofit arts organization based in Norway, Maine, dedicated to amplifying Maine’s arts community through exhibitions, artist residencies, workshops, and public programs. Our mission is to connect Maine artists and their circles to a broader community. We feature emerging and established artists alongside one another to encourage conversation, collaboration, and camaraderie. Founded by a collective of artists and curators, Lights Out began as a series of pop-up shows and video interviews featuring Maine artists, evolving into a larger initiative that connects creatives across the state.
In 2022, Lights Out acquired the historic Snowshoe Factory in downtown Norway, with a vision to transform the space into a dynamic arts hub. This ongoing restoration project will house galleries, studios, a woodshop, dance studio, and community gathering spaces, all designed to provide resources and opportunities for artists and the local community.
In addition to its year-round programming, Lights Out now organizes the Norway Maine Arts Festival, a long-standing celebration of Maine’s artists, makers, and musicians. to learn more about the festival go to maineartsfestival.org
Mad Dog Artist Studios
Mad Dog Artist Studios & Services is a six thousand square foot arts and crafts complex located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. 
We offer of variety of workshops and programming, as well as private and shared studio spaces. Membership includes access to a variety of equipment such as pottery wheels, kiln, jewelry bench, torches, and more. We welcome out-of-state guest artists and makers for attending and/or hosting workshops and programming. Get in touch to learn more!
Maine Fiberarts
For over 23 years, Maine Fiberarts has championed fiber art, craft, farms, businesses and learning centers through exhibitions in our Topsham Center/Gallery, Tour Maps to Studio & Farms, Midcoast Mini Tour, Exploring Fiber Art in Western Maine (new), FIBER ART MASTERS book and our LEARNING FIBER ART GUIDE. We maintain two websites: our flagship at https://www.mainefiberarts.org and our travel website https://www.mainefiberfolio.com. Come visit us in Topsham for traveling tips, fiber art referrals, and to see a great show.
Maine Clay Collaborative
Maine Clay is a community of potters and ceramic artists working together to learn and cultivate creativity through clay.
With a focus on teaching, Maine Clay goes beyond the limits of the traditional hobby studio by providing learning opportunities through a robust workshop series and access to equipment and training that will enable enable creative expression and technical aptitude.
Maine Pottery Tour
Every year on the first weekend in May, pottery and ceramics studios in Maine open their doors to the public. The inspiration behind this event is to help potters find their audience, build community among potters, educate the public, and celebrate ceramic arts in our state. The Maine Pottery Tour is a self-guided driving tour, our website has downloadable and interactive maps, and with the help of our new Plan My Tour app, people can plan their own Pottery Tour road trip.
Markings Gallery
Markings Gallery offers an eclectic mix of works by Maine artists in metal, clay, fiber, paper, glass, paint, stone and wood. The Gallery opened in Bath, Maine in 2010 and features accomplished contemporary Maine artists and artisans. A core group of members takes care of the day to day business of the gallery and you will often meet them working in the gallery. We showcase a wide variety of individual pieces as well as seasonal thematic group shows.
Mill Pond Ceramics Studio
Mill Pond Ceramics Studio, founded in March 2023, is a community clay studio offering classes, workshops, and membership. The studio is 24/7 and is currently located in a former textile mill along the Saco River. Mill Pond Ceramics Studio also houses a gift shop selling work by members and hosts small fine art exhibitions.
Portland Pottery
Portland Pottery is a full-service pottery supply shop (with locations in Portland, Maine and Braintree, Mass) and community ceramics studio (with two locations in Portland, Maine). We offer classes, private lessons, parties, workshops, and more to people of all ages and stages! We love making ceramics and are here to support and inspire your practice with clay 🙂
Mill Studio Arts
The Metals Collective
The Metals Collective is a Portland, Maine based group of makers whose mission is to promote the craft of metalsmithing & jewelry through collaboration, growth, and public engagement.
Founded in 2010, the Metals Collective has produced over a dozen group exhibitions, featuring over 20 different makers. For each show, a historical or conceptual theme is selected for participating members to respond to. Through the collaborative nature of the Metals Collective, each artist is encouraged to create work that is outside the bounds of their regular studio practice, resulting in individual artistic growth. By bringing handmade art jewelry and objects to view in public spaces, the Metals Collective engages the community with explorations of historical content and contemporary metalsmithing practices. Members range from fresh graduates to seasoned professionals.
www.metalscollective.com
Pickwick Independent Press
Rad community print shop in the heart of Portland, Maine, offering membership, workshops, commission work and more! We specialize in Relief, letterpress, screen, intaglio and riso printing.
Rewild Maine
Schoodic Arts for All
The mission of Schoodic Arts for All is to bring artists and community members together to provide year-round cultural events and activities that hold value for our community.
Spindleworks
Spindleworks makes it possible for people to be accepted and valued as contributing members of the artistic community as well as the community as a whole.
Our downtown Brunswick location serves as our home studio, providing professional art skills and mentorship to our artists. The big blue house welcomes the public for workshops, gallery exhibitions, and purchasing of one-of-a-kind art objects.
We provide art programming that advocates for inclusion and equity for artists with disabilities within the greater creative arts community. By establishing partnerships with community organizations, we offer integrated art experiences that support personal growth.
Tear Cap Workshops
The Turtle Gallery
The Turtle Gallery resides in an 1876 two-story barn and outdoor sculpture garden located at 61 N. Deer Isle Road on Route 15, just north of the Deer Isle village center. We are open seasonally, Thursday through Sunday 11am-5pm, June-September.
Since 1982, we have been committed to featuring Fine Art and Contemporary Craft from the Down East region and beyond.